Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Jun 11: The Air India flight that was to fly to Abu Dhabi from the international airport here on Sunday night was stranded at the airport on account of technical snag. The passengers of the flight were forced to spend ten hours inside the terminal.

The flight was to take off at 8.45 pm on Sunday. But the pilot of the aircraft found technical problems and conveyed information. The engineers who were engaged in repairs till late night finally expressed helplessness for want of equipment needed to repair the aircraft.

It is said that the spare parts concerned are available only in Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram. As the information that repairs could not be undertaken arrived at around midnight, the authorities could not make alternative arrangement or hotel stay for the 112 passengers. The passengers therefore were confined to the airport terminal.

The Air India flight which came here from Dubai at 4.30 am on Monday was to fly back to Dubai at 9.10 am. The timing and route of this flight were changed and passengers bound for Abu Dhabi were accommodated in this flight. The passengers finally took off to Abu Dhabi at 6.30 am. However, those who wanted to reach Abu Dhabi either to report for duty at the office or attend interview etc failed to reach on time. It is learnt that some of the passengers got their tickets cancelled and went home. Some passengers including a pregnant woman also protested at the absence of commercial department staff to listen to the grievances of passengers.

The passengers who were to take the 9.10 am flight to Dubai were informed in advance about the non-availability of the flight. They were sent to Dubai at 2.30 pm after the aircraft which encountered technical problem was repaired. It is reported that the Air India officials met food and water needs of passengers during the time they were here.